Edward M. Murphy of the Pontiac Buggy Company began producing Oakland cars in 1908. On April 9, 1909, Oakland was purchased by General Motors, which had been organized just seven months earlier. Under GM, Oakland became an upper-medium priced car that sold well during the teens and into the 1920s.

In 1926, Oakland started building the lower-priced Pontiac as a 'companion car.' The relatively inexpensive 6-cylinder Pontiac was an immediate success and quickly overshadowed the more costly Oakland. The last Oakland was built in 1931. More than one million Oaklands had been produced by that time.

The senior Oakland for 1928 and 1928 was advertised as the 'All-American Six.' The 1929 model featured new styling, but continued to use the 212-cubic-inch engine introduced in 1928. All 1929 Pontiacs and Oaklands featured a chrome divider bar that vertically split their radiators visually.

This rare example of the 1929 Oakland was stored for more than 60 years before it was obtained and restored by the current owner.